How old were you when you got your first pocket knife? Me? I was in 5th or 6th grade. I used to to set up booby traps in the woods and just generally bullshit around after school outside my house. I have always thought guys who carried pocket knives are pretty well rounded - wait, let me restate that - guys that carry pocket knives and don't have records or tendency to get in to fights after they've been drinking.

SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO......

My good friend-of-many-years' kid just turned 12. TWELVE. That's 7th grade. That's the age where you've been flirting with puberty for a solid year and you're embarking in the spiral twister of cognitive, emotional, and social development that is just ahead of you. For his birthday I get him a really nice knife. It's not spring assisted- just a standard gerber pocket knife.

She took it away from him. Told me it was inappropriate. She said something to the effect of "I can't believe you got my son a weapon"

Ugh.

So, am I a bitch for getting him a knife? I made it clear not to take to school but rather to use it as a tool. Is that kind of overstepping my boundaries?

I guess I see both sides of this argument. It is on the ranking of "questionable gift" but dude....what's gonna happen to a kid who's mother (divorced and single) won't even let him play with a knife? Do you think he'll grow up with a misunderstanding of knives? To know that he can't have one?

Did you have a knife growing up?
Do you think it's a good idea or a bad idea to have a knife?
Do you think adolescents who aren't allowed to use and explore such tools are hindered for real-world problem solving development?

I want to hear your thoughts.

9/17/2009 3:36:19 PM

tl;dr

9/17/2009 3:36:37 PM

No, this mom is crazy.

9/17/2009 3:36:50 PM

by 7th grade i was playing with guns, knifes and taking motors apart.

fuck her

[Edited on September 17, 2009 at 3:37 PM. Reason : and by playing i mean "not doing anything stupid bc i'd get my ass kicked"]

9/17/2009 3:37:19 PM

Quote :

"gerber"

that's your problem...should have gone CRKT

9/17/2009 3:37:48 PM

Quote :

"No, this mom is crazy."

and most likely very over protective.....

9/17/2009 3:38:13 PM

yeah, knives in like 4th, bb guns and compound bows and shit by 5th

9/17/2009 3:38:13 PM

jinx

9/17/2009 3:38:34 PM

I wouldn't buy someone else's child of that age a knife unless I asked the parent's permission. But I definitely had several of my own knives and guns at that age.

[Edited on September 17, 2009 at 3:39 PM. Reason : guns]

9/17/2009 3:38:35 PM

I'm happy for you and Imma let you finish, but opie taylor was the best raised kid of all time!

9/17/2009 3:39:16 PM

yeah, he should be well into Red Ryders by 7th grade- shooting barbies and GI JOES...

9/17/2009 3:40:46 PM

I almost shot my eye out with a red ryder.

Shooting cans off of a wall, I hit the wall and it hit me in the bridge of the nose. I made sure I was more accurate next time.

9/17/2009 3:42:14 PM

shit, by that time i had not only a knife, but a hatchet, machete, bb gun, slingshot and some other "weapons"

my brother and i would dissapear into the woods for hours on the weekends.

9/17/2009 3:43:05 PM

Quote :

"by 7th grade i was playing with guns, knifes and taking motors apart. fuck her [Edited on September 17, 2009 at 3:37 PM. Reason : and by playing i mean "not doing anything stupid bc i'd get my ass kicked"]"

TO THE FUCKING 'T' MAN

Teach a little responsibility & safety, watch them grow to be sensible adults.


P.S. by the 8th grade I had saved my money and purchased this:


[Edited on September 17, 2009 at 3:44 PM. Reason : -]

9/17/2009 3:43:27 PM

depends on the kids level of maturity

9/17/2009 3:43:37 PM

hell yeah

backpack full of those milk carton bb containers, some knives, couple of cans of vienna sausages

just had to be home before the street lights came on, which was weird considering there weren't street lights in the woods

9/17/2009 3:44:03 PM

i learned to lick off shots in elementary school

i most definitely had a number of spydercos at the same time

9/17/2009 3:44:20 PM

He should be past red ryders, I was shooting shotguns no later than 5th grade.

9/17/2009 3:44:25 PM

I was probably about 10 years old when my parents found my great gradfathers pocket knife in his old tackle box for fishing. My dad gave it to me and showed me how to make spears with it. Then he told me to always cut away from myself. About 20 minutes later my finger was bleeding pretty bad.

9/17/2009 3:46:57 PM

her child probably spends its free time in front of the tv/xbox/computer and has never been outside

9/17/2009 3:47:52 PM

okay - suddenly we're in a penis measuring competition.

Bottom line, we are from NC, RIGHT?- we are not trying to rock 8+1s down Jamaican Avenue....we just live on dead end roads and don't have cable.

9/17/2009 3:48:02 PM

8+1s? sounds like somebody shouldve copped some brady repealed shit

31+1 WHAT WHAT

9/17/2009 3:48:50 PM

I had plenty of "weapons" by that age. Hell I was hunting by myself at that age. I probably had at least a dozen knifes by that age. My nephew is 9, turning 10 in Nov., and he already has multiple knifes as well as shooting a 410 and .22 and I think of him as a little behind b/c he isn't shooting at 20 gauge already. I agree that you probably should've asked the mom before hand but fuck, can't be a protective cunt your whole life. Let the kid live and grow up. Nice gesture on your part for getting him a knife.

9/17/2009 3:48:53 PM

The thing about weapons/dangerous tools and kids is that they need to learn proper safety precautions. I mean yea shooting guns and crap by then but they came with a long lecture and proper guidance. Even so a knife doesn't require as much guidance or anything but I also spent my whole life up until the point I got a knife watching my dad/uncles/etc using one...

9/17/2009 3:50:23 PM

I think I built my first potato gun in 7th grade (or maybe it was 6th).

PVC pipe, glue, and a grill flint starter. Add some hairspray and a potato, awesome times ensue.

9/17/2009 3:51:04 PM

The mother is just being crazy.

9/17/2009 3:51:18 PM

BB guns, paintball guns, knives, bow and arrow, slingshots, shotgun, i had it all. But with all of that came lessons on safety, and how to use said item in its proper manner and take care of it.

9/17/2009 3:52:50 PM

also people are just bigger pussies nowadays...from parents down to their kids

9/17/2009 3:54:10 PM

i'd say you were out of line buying a weapon (as weak a weapon as it may be it's still a weapon) for a kid who is not your own without first asking the parent

maybe she is being over protective, but that's not for anyone but her and her husband to decide.

shit, my parents wouldn't buy me GI Joes when I was a kid...or megatron (the one that turned into a pistol)...i ended up being an anti terrorism officer in the military and probably fired more rounds of ammo that 99% of people will in their life. just because parents are over protective doesn't mean that their kid is going to wind up some worthless wimp.

9/17/2009 3:55:01 PM

Quote :

"I think I built my first potato gun in 7th grade (or maybe it was 6th). PVC pipe, glue, and a grill flint starter. Add some hairspray and a potato, awesome times ensue. "

haha..me and you both. i remember trying to shoot fish in my friends pond with that thing and his dad laughing at it

9/17/2009 3:55:18 PM

I'm sure that kid's room is stacked with participation trophies and 6th place ribbons

9/17/2009 3:55:44 PM

how does a kid with a single divorced mom not have a knife already

9/17/2009 3:56:51 PM

....hAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAAHA

9/17/2009 3:57:18 PM

The mother probably has less experience with weapons than the 12 year old boy does. She's nuts, but usually controversial gifts are given to kids by their grandparents. Not that a little pocket knife is controversial, but it definitely isn't a gift certificate.

9/17/2009 3:57:23 PM

You should have known better than to purchase a pocket knife for a young kid without talking to his parents first.

Not all parents have the same set of ideals and values when it comes to how they raise their children. Some boys have BB guns and pocket knives. Some girls have their ears pierced and others don't. Some parents use these things as a reward for hard work. Some parents think every 12 year old should know how to use a pocket knife and others think 14 is a better age. It's a parent's right to decide those things. A parent also knows whether or not their child is mature enough to handle it and you don't.

The other thing that makes this a really big deal is that if her son forgets his pocket knife in a coat pocket and takes it to school, he may just make the news for bringing a 'weapon' to school and be expelled. That's just the way that it is now in public school.

[Edited on September 17, 2009 at 4:00 PM. Reason : .]

9/17/2009 3:57:45 PM

I WAS KILLING BEARS BAREHANDED BEFORE I LEARNED TO WALK

But seriously, I did not have a pocket knife of any sort when I was young. To this day I don't have a serious knife, just a small 4one that I put on my keychain. Not that I wouldn't mind having one, but I don't have a need for one.

Quote :

"I wouldn't buy someone else's child of that age a knife unless I asked the parent's permission."

You may be from a woodsy community, but maybe your friend isn't. If he's like a kid from suburbia, then that knife is no more than a weapon and I'd say borderline inappropriate for him. Play around in the woods, clean bears, cut ropes? Sure. Wander around the yard killing ants with magnifying lenses? Not needed.

9/17/2009 3:58:20 PM

i had a knife when i was 12 but i was also in boy scouts and trained on how to use it

i see nothing wrong with a 12 year old having a knife if s/he was properly traine don how to use it, and my kids would be trained how to properly use knives by 12


that being said

i think it may be overstepping your bounds to assume that their kid is properly trained on how to use a knife, thats probably something i would have okayed with the parents before i bought. if my kid had never learned the basics of pocket knife safety i wouldnt want someone giving him a knife.

9/17/2009 4:00:55 PM

My grandpa got me one of these for pre-school graduation from La Petite academy when I was like 4

[Edited on September 17, 2009 at 4:01 PM. Reason : too big]

9/17/2009 4:00:57 PM

I was playing with ninja stars by like 3rd grade

9/17/2009 4:01:54 PM

I had already lost an ear and 45% of my left vision from fighting ninjas by the time I had my kindergarten entry-exam.

9/17/2009 4:04:25 PM

Quote :

"Do you think adolescents who aren't allowed to use and explore such tools are hindered for real-world problem solving development?"

that's a stretch. it's not like it takes working with knives at age 12 to understand the sharp edge cuts stuff. in fact, one could argue that the absence of basic tools could help develop skills. i learned how to make a camp fire with sticks before my parents would dream of giving me a lighter of my own

[Edited on September 17, 2009 at 4:08 PM. Reason : .]

9/17/2009 4:06:24 PM

saps852:

Quote :

"i had a knife when i was 12 "

there's a really obvious joke that I'm actually going to refrain from making.

9/17/2009 4:09:25 PM

i was already designing laser-guided rocketry by middle school.

KIDS THESE DAYS

[Edited on September 17, 2009 at 4:10 PM. Reason : .]

9/17/2009 4:10:29 PM

you're not a bitch. your gift was well-intentioned.... but it was inappropriate, considering you didnt check w/ her first.

this is something for a parent to decide, not a friend. even a grandparent would have to check with the parent first.

some people have very strong feelings one way or another about weapons, even a relatively benign pocket knife. also some 12 year olds are mature and responsible, and some are still essentially little children.

your friend may have legitimate reasons why her son is not "ready" for a pocket knife. or she may just be irrational about it.

in any event, you should have talked to her first. you may have been able to sway her if she was somewhat ambiguous.

at this point it's too late now. there's no way you can salvage the discussion and try and reason with her on this. you've overstepped your bounds. all you can do now is apologize to her, and offer to replace the gift with something (at least in the mother's opinion) more age appropriate.

after you've apologized and replaced it and a bit of time has passed .... you could have a neutral conversation with her about the importance of a pocket knife for a young boy. she may come around on it, but only after she doesnt see you as directly challenging her beliefs or her parental authority.

9/17/2009 4:12:16 PM

My uncle would give all his nephews a pocket knife every three or four christmases or birthdays.

9/17/2009 4:12:43 PM

^^ trying to raise someone's kids

[Edited on September 17, 2009 at 4:13 PM. Reason : late]

9/17/2009 4:13:10 PM

Well, now you know better.

Next time give the "weapon" to the kid and make sure he knows to hide it from mom.

9/17/2009 4:14:06 PM

My nephew just turned 6 and I asked my sister before I bought him a nerf gun. That's just common sense.

Hey DJ Lauren, remember that time you got hammered at an AC/DC concert and went home with my friend Adam? It's funny now, because you're legal and he's a dentist.

9/17/2009 4:18:36 PM

I think those of us in our twenties now were the LAST generation that:

-didn't matter if we sat in the front seat
-didn't use a booster seat in the car, once we didn't fit in the 'baby' seat, no more extra seat needed
-always got scrapes and bruises playing outside
-played outside
-played awesome war games
-took Rambo type movies in the 80s for granted
-didn't wear enough armour riding a bike to mistake us with the knights of lore
-had to learn how to use DOS

ALSO INSERT NINJA SOUTHPARK EPISODE HERE TOO

[Edited on September 18, 2009 at 7:48 AM. Reason : go ahead and return it Kyle, just try to]

9/18/2009 7:47:22 AM

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9/18/2009 7:48:04 AM